


The catalyst

by Reliz



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, main character trope, one piece story from start to marineford, play on the main character trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2018-11-04 09:58:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10988580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reliz/pseuds/Reliz
Summary: Monkey D. Luffy was not born a main character and he didn't become a main character. He was something bigger. A catalyst.My take on the main character trope where you can tell whether a person is a main character when they are born. (Mostly seen from hair or such)





	1. Chapter 1

Dragon looks at his son. His barely a month old son and sighs in relief.

His hair is regular black along with his eyes. Nothing unnatural about him.

There always was a chance, even if the mothers coloring was normal, his hair after all was dark green and here he was. The most wanted man in the world.

His son at least would be alright. Not ever completely normal, he is a D. after all, but he wouldn't attract trouble the same way a main character would.

It was the same thought Garp had when he first held his tiny grandson in his arms. He still remembers the fear he felt for his son when he was born with the abnormal green hair.

If people weren’t so blinded by main characters bright coloring they would remember that, more often than not, there is always a catalyst. The one thing that makes main characters stories move.

~o~

When marines try to decide who to give the bounty for Alrong and the rest they look at the green haired swordsman and the orange haired navigator and feel very tempted. They are, after all, clearly main characters.

But they can't lie about this, and several witnesses saw the plain straw-hat wearing kid bring down Arlong.

~o~

It's Vivi who starts seeing it first.

When they first meet she's sure Nami or Zoro is the captain. It couldn't possibly be the plain kid with a straw-hat. She isn't the first to think that, nor the last.

When Zoro beats all the bounty hunters of Whiskey Peak, she feels justified at her doubts but she doesn't get to think about it for long. 

Miss Valentine and Mister 5 arrive with the news that she's been found out and she has other things to think (worry) about.

Then she's traveling with them and slowly starts to understand why the Straw-hats follow Luffy and starts to feel a part of this amazing crew.

She doesn't really remember ever doubting her captain.

It's Vivi who starts seeing it first, but in the end she's a main character, inside the loop. She doesn't connect the dots.

~o~

Robin figures it out first. Connects the dots she started to first see at Whiskey peak.

It's when she hears the bell and thinks ‘my captain did it’ that the final line is drawn. She looks at her crewmates, lingering on two in particular, main characters. And they follow someone as plain looking as Monkey D. Luffy. (She also remembers the blue haired princess.)

She smiles a small (sad) smile.

Her mother was a main character, and she might not have known her for long but she remembers.

She was close, but not in the loop and sees.

The Catalyst.

~o~

Sengoku was the second to realize.

He thinks back on a young Whitebeard with his normal blond hair and his crew. Spots of unnatural colours.

He thinks about Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, and his normal black hair.

He feels dread.

He remembers Garp’s stories. Remembers Eines Lobby. And particularly the three colorful wanted posters.

The dread intensifies.

For a moment he feels relief when he sees Akainu’s fist flying at Straw-hat.

The Fire Fist gets in the way.

Things get more chaotic. Whitebeard is dead.

He remembers that Straw-hat got seriously injured and, for a moment, hopes. But he's not in the habit of fooling himself. He knows today’s events won’t keep catalyst away for long.

~o~

Around the time Sengoku gets it, Law figures it out. He's smart and seen and read a lot.

It's not a conscious decision to help Straw-hat, but he does.

He feels, for a moment, regret. He got involved. Then his practical side kicks in.

He can use this. He's got plans. Dangerous ones. And he's not a main character. Having a catalyst on his side could greatly improve his chances.

But not yet. He's not ready and neither is Straw-hat.

He's waited this long, he can wait a bit longer.


	2. Ace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for LokeRosing, for their kind words that inspired me to write this.  
> It's even shorter than the previous chapter...
> 
> Anyway thanks Loke, this is more about Ace than Ace's view on Luffy but I hope you like it.

When Ace first meets Luffy he thinks 'Just another useless hanger on that don't amount to anything'. So he ignores Luffy and concentrates on his goal.  He's gonna be someone and can't have useless people slowing him down.   
  
(weeks later when Luffy finds their pirate savings and gets captured but doesn't talk he relents.  Maybe he's not quite useless. But he still sucks at throwing a punch.)    
  
When Ace was young there was just one thought which made the idea of being The Pirate King's child not suck that bad. He would never be just a useless hanger on. He was determined to be remembered for something not his father.   
  
His donor was a catalyst. He was so sure he'd be one too. Sure for the longest time he didn't actually know what that meant,  just that it got gramps complaining. It got to be good. Later Sabo explained.   
  
Later with Pop's and all of his new family around him he was sure he wasn't. And he didn't mind.   
  
Later still when he saw Luffy for the first time in three years,  saw the colorful main characters all around him. He saw Luffy for the first time for what he really was. A catalyst.   
  
When Ace took his last breath in his brother's arms he wasn't quite aware enough to realise. He, like his father before him, wasn't a main character nor just a catalyst,  the start of a main charaters story. They were beginning of a thousand stories and catalysts. They were a beginning of an age.    
  
  
  



End file.
